Display control device, display control method, and display system

ABSTRACT

A terminal is a display control device for displaying a virtual space including an avatar that is operated by a user wearing a head-mounted display, the terminal being provided with: an avatar control unit which generates control data of the avatar corresponding to the movement of the user; a computation unit which, when the avatar and an object have collided with each other, computes physical behaviors of the avatar and the object that correspond to the collision; a VR space management unit which applies the result of the computation made by the computation unit to the virtual space; and a rendering unit which renders, as an image to be supplied to the head-mounted display, the avatar the behavior of which corresponding to the collision is kept within a predetermined range.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a display control device, a displaycontrol method, and a display system.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, services that allow users to operate avatars todistribute programs in virtual reality (VR) space and to communicatewith each other via avatars have become widespread.

In a case where an object collides with an avatar operated by a user,for example, in a case where an object thrown into a VR space by aviewer collides with an avatar, or avatars collide with each other, whenthe avatar does not react according to the collision timing of theobject, the viewer cannot really feel that the object collides with theavatar.

Non-Patent Document 1 proposes a technology for automatically generatinga reaction motion of an avatar by a physics engine when the avatar andan object collide with each other. In Non-Patent Document 1, since areaction according to the collision of the object is automaticallyperformed, the user does not need to operate in accordance with thecollision timing of the object. In addition, when the avatar comes intocontact with another avatar or object, an arm of the avatar does notpenetrate the object, and thus it is possible to deliver a video thatallows a more realistic feeling.

CITATION LIST Non-Patent Document

-   Non-Patent Document 1: Ken Sugimori and four others, “Acting    support! VTuber avatar that moves freely when a gift is won”,    CEDEC2019, General Corporation, Computer Entertainment Supplier's    Association, Sep. 4, 2019

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

However, in Non-Patent Document 1, there is a problem that when theavatar and the object collide, the avatar automatically reactsregardless of the intention of the user who operates the avatar, so thata state of the avatar thought by the user does not match a state of theavatar seen by the user, and the user feeds uncomfortable.

The invention has been made in view of the above description, and anobject of the invention is to make the collision between the avatar andthe object more realistic and to make the user who operates the avatarhardly feel uncomfortable.

Solution to Problem

A display control device of an aspect of the invention is a displaycontrol device for displaying a virtual space including an avataroperated by a user wearing a head-mounted display, including an avatarcontrol unit for generating control data of the avatar according tomovement of the user, a computation unit for calculating physicalbehaviors of the avatar and an object according to a collision when theavatar and the object collide with each other, a virtual spacemanagement unit for applying a calculation result of the computationunit to the virtual space, and a rendering unit for rendering the avatarwhose behavior in response to a collision is suppressed within apredetermined range as a video supplied to the head-mounted display whena posture of the avatar to which the calculation result is applied and aposture of the avatar based on an operation of the user diverge fromeach other by a predetermined value or more.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

According to the invention, it is possible to make the collision betweenthe avatar and the object more realistic and to make the user whooperates the avatar hardly feel uncomfortable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a displaysystem including a display control terminal of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configurationexample of the display control terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the displaycontrol terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an avatar when collisionprocessing is not performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an avatar when collisionprocessing is performed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example when collision processing isperformed on only one avatar.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example when collision processing isperformed only on the other avatar.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an avatar when collisionprocessing is not performed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an avatar when collisionprocessing is performed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a videodistribution system including a display control terminal of a secondembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configurationexample of the display control terminal of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the displaycontrol terminal of the second embodiment.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a display system including a display control terminal of afirst embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

The display system including the display control terminal of the firstembodiment is a system in which respective users operate avatars in avirtual space, chat in the virtual space via the avatars, and cancommunicate with each other on a network.

The display system of FIG. 1 includes a plurality of terminals 10communicably connected via the network. Each of the terminals 10 is adisplay control terminal of the first embodiment. Even though only twoterminals 10 are illustrated in FIG. 1, three or more users mayparticipate in a chat, and the number of terminals 10 is arbitrary.

A controller 20 and a head-mounted display (HMD) 30 are connected toeach terminal 10. The user can operate the avatar by the controller 20,and can see the virtual space from a viewpoint of the avatar by wearingthe HMD 30. The HMD 30 includes a microphone and a speaker. Voice of theuser collected by the microphone is transmitted to the terminal 10 ofanother user. Further, voice of another user received from the terminal10 of another user is output from the speaker.

The avatars operated by each user exist in the same virtual space. Datain the virtual space may be synchronized between the terminals 10, orany terminal 10 may manage the data in the virtual space.

A configuration of the terminal 10 will be described with reference toFIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates the terminal 10 used by each user. Theterminal 10 includes an avatar control unit 11, a VR space managementunit 12, a computation unit 13, a rendering unit 14, and a communicationunit 15. For the terminal 10, for example, it is possible to use ageneral-purpose computer system including a central processing unit(CPU), a memory, a storage space, a communication device, and aninput/output device. In this computer system, each part of the terminalis implemented by the CPU executing a predetermined program loaded onthe memory. This program can be recorded on a computer-readablerecording medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disc, or asemiconductor memory, or can be distributed via the network.

The avatar control unit 11 receives a posture, a position, and operationinformation of the user from a device such as the controller 20, andgenerates control data for controlling the posture and movement of theavatar of the user. The control data is motion data obtained bymotion-capturing the movement of the user. Hereinafter, when the avataroperated by the user is distinguished from an avatar operated by anotheruser, the avatar of the user may be referred to as a “user avatar” andthe avatar of another user may be referred to as “another user avatar”.

The VR space management unit 12 manages data of the object existing inthe virtual space. The data of the object includes model data andposition data of the object. An avatar is one of objects existing in thevirtual space. Data related to the avatar includes, for example, modeldata and control data. The data in the virtual space is acquired by eachterminal 10 in advance. For example, each terminal 10 may acquire datain the virtual space from a data server (not illustrated), or mayacquire data from another terminal 10.

The VR space management unit 12 applies the control data generated bythe avatar control unit 11 to the user avatar to update the posture andposition of the user avatar, and applies the control data received fromthe terminal 10 of another user to another user avatar. Further, whenthere is an object that moves in the virtual space, the VR spacemanagement unit 12 updates the posture and position of the objectaccording to the movement. The data in the virtual space is managedsynchronously between the terminals 10, and the virtual space managed byeach terminal 10 is the same virtual space. Any terminal 10 may managethe virtual space, or a server (not illustrated) may manage the virtualspace. When the virtual space is managed by a specific device, eachterminal 10 acquires the data of the virtual space from the device.

When objects (including avatars) collide with each other in the virtualspace, the computation unit 13 calculates a physical behavior of eachobject in response to the collision. A well-known physics engine can beused for the computation unit 13.

The VR space management unit 12 updates the posture and position of eachobject based on a calculation result. For the user avatar, the VR spacemanagement unit 12 manages posture and position information of the useravatar in a state where the calculation result is not applied inaddition to posture and position information of the user avatar afterapplying the calculation result. Alternatively, the VR space managementunit 12 may manage posture and position information of the user avatarin a state where a calculation result calculated by changing a parameteris applied, or manage posture and position information of the useravatar in a state where a calculation result is applied by changing adegree of application.

The rendering unit 14 renders the virtual space from a viewpoint of theuser avatar, and supplies the rendered video to the HMD 30. At thistime, the rendering unit 14 renders the user avatar by replacing theuser avatar with posture and position information of the user avatarmanaged separately so that a reaction motion of the user avatar issuppressed within a predetermined range. The predetermined range is arange within which the user does not feel uncomfortable. For example,whether or not the reaction motion is within the predetermined range canbe determined based on a degree of divergence between a posture due tothe reaction motion of the user avatar and a posture due to an operationof the user and a length of the reaction motion.

As a method of suppressing the reaction motion of the user avatar withinthe predetermined range in the video supplied to the HMD 30, therendering unit 14 renders the user avatar in a state where thecalculation result is not applied.

Alternatively, the computation unit 13 may calculate a behavior of theuser avatar when a parameter such as the weight of the object collidingwith the user avatar is changed as a calculation result applied to theuser avatar by the rendering unit 14, and the rendering unit 14 mayrender the user avatar to which the calculation result having thechanged parameter is applied. By treating the object that collides withthe user avatar as a light object, the reaction motion of the useravatar is suppressed, and thus the user hardly feels uncomfortable.

Alternatively, the rendering unit 14 may render the user avatar to whichthe calculation result is applied by changing a degree of application.For example, in a case where a heavy object collides with the useravatar, the user avatar staggers greatly when the calculation result ofthe computation unit 13 is applied. In this case, when rendering theuser avatar, the rendering unit 14 suppresses the degree of applicationof the calculation result and applies the calculation result to the useravatar so that the reaction motion of the user avatar becomes a smallreaction motion not causing the user to feel uncomfortable.

In any case, a person other than the user sees the user avatar thatreacts greatly by a normal calculation result of the computation unit 13applied thereto. In the video supplied to the HMD 30, the reactionmotion of the user avatar by the calculation result of the computationunit 13 is replaced and rendered, so that a reaction motion of the useravatar seen by others is different from a reaction motion of the useravatar seen or felt by the user.

Note that when the user avatar performs reaction motion more than apredetermined range due to object collision, the calculation result maynot be applied to the user avatar, the degree of application of thecalculation result may be suppressed, or the calculation resultcalculated by changing the parameter may be applied. That is, when theposture of the user avatar to which the calculation result is appliedand the posture of the user avatar based on the operation of the userdiverge from each other by a predetermined value or more, the renderingunit 14 may vary the calculation result applied to the user avatar.

The communication unit 15 transmits and receives control data of theuser avatar and voice data of the user to and from the terminal 10 ofanother user. More specifically, the communication unit 15 transmits thecontrol data of the user avatar generated by the avatar control unit 11to the terminal 10 of another user, and receives control data of anotheruser avatar from the terminal 10 of another user. Further, thecommunication unit 15 transmits voice data of the user collected by themicrophone of the HMD 30 to the terminal 10 of another user, andreceives voice data of another user from the terminal 10 of anotheruser.

Note that one of the terminals 10 may not include the computation unit13 and receive the calculation result of the computation unit 13 or dataof the virtual space after applying the calculation result from anotherterminal 10. For example, when the terminal 10 on the left side of FIG.2 (hereinafter referred to as terminal 10A) includes the computationunit 13 and the terminal 10 on the right side (hereinafter referred toas terminal 10B) does not include the computation unit 13, the terminal10B receives data of the virtual space after applying the calculationresult from the terminal 10A. At this time, for a user avatar B of auser B of the terminal 10B, the rendering unit 14 of the terminal 10Breplaces a posture and position of the user avatar B to which thecalculation result is applied with a posture and position of the useravatar B to which the calculation result is not applied, and renders thevirtual space.

As long as the above functions can be implemented in the entire system,any device can be used to execute processing of each part included inthe terminal 10. For example, a server (not illustrated) may include theVR space management unit 12 and the computation unit 13. The serverreceives control data of the avatar from each terminal 10. The VR spacemanagement unit 12 applies the control data to the avatar in the virtualspace, and the computation unit 13 executes collision processing andapplies the calculation result to the virtual space. Each terminal 10receives data of the virtual space after applying the calculation resultfrom the server. At this time, for a user avatar of a user using theterminal 10, the rendering unit 14 of each terminal 10 replaces aposture and position of the user avatar to which the calculation resultis applied with a posture and position of the user avatar to which thecalculation result is not applied, and renders the virtual space.

Further, the server may include the rendering unit 14. The serverreceives line-of-sight information of the user from each of theterminals 10A and 10B. The rendering unit 14 transmits a video obtainedby rendering a virtual space in which the calculation result is notapplied to the user avatar A to the terminal 10A, and provides a videoobtained by rendering a virtual space in which the calculation result isnot applied to the user avatar B to the terminal 10B. In this case, theterminals 10A and 10B may have a function of capturing motions of theusers A and B and a function of displaying the received video.

An operation of the terminal 10 will be described with reference to aflowchart of FIG. 3. Hereinafter, a case where the calculation result isnot applied to the user avatar will be described. However, similardescription can be applied to a case where the degree of application ofthe calculation result is suppressed or the calculation resultcalculated by changing a parameter is applied.

In step S11, the avatar control unit 11 receives information about theposture of the user, etc. from the controller 20 and generates controldata of the user avatar. The communication unit 15 transmits the controldata generated by the avatar control unit 11 to another terminal 10.

In step S12, the communication unit 15 receives control data of anotheruser avatar from another terminal 10.

In step S13, the VR space management unit 12 applies the control data tothe avatar and updates a posture and position of a moving object.

In step S14, the computation unit 13 performs collision processingbetween objects. For example, the computation unit 13 determines whetheror not there is a colliding object, obtains information about acollision position, a collision direction, an overlapping depth, etc.for the colliding object, and calculates a behavior of each object inresponse to a collision based on information about mass, velocity, acoefficient of restitution, etc. of the object.

In step S15, the VR space management unit 12 reflects the calculationresult of the computation unit 13 in the virtual space and updates theposture and position of the object. For example, when the avatar 100Ahits a head of the avatar 100B, an arm of the avatar 100A and the headof the avatar 100B collide with each other as illustrated in FIG. 4.When the calculation result of the computation unit 13 is reflected ineach of the avatars 100A and 100B, the arm of the avatar 100A and thehead of the avatar 100B are not caved in illustrated in FIG. 5.

Note that the VR space management unit 12 separately manages the postureand position of the user avatar in a state where the calculation resultis not applied. For example, the posture and position of the avatar 100Aof FIG. 4 are separately managed. The VR space management unit 12 mayseparately manage the posture and position of the user avatar to whichthe calculation result having a changed degree of application isapplied, or may separately manage the posture and position of the useravatar to which the calculation result calculated by changing theparameter is applied.

In step S16, the rendering unit 14 renders the virtual space withoutapplying the calculation result to the user avatar, and supplies therendered video to the HMD 30.

For example, when the calculation result is applied to the avatar 100A,a position of the arm of the avatar 100A becomes a position illustratedin FIG. 5. However, since the user performs an operation to lower thearm of the avatar 100A to a position illustrated in FIG. 4, theoperation of the user and the posture of the avatar 100A do not match,and the user feels uncomfortable.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the posture and position of theuser avatar to which the calculation result is not applied are managed,and the rendering unit 14 replaces the user avatar to which thecalculation result is applied with the user avatar to which thecalculation result is not applied, and renders the virtual space. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a video in which the avatar 100A isreplaced with the avatar 100A to which the calculation result is notapplied (the avatar 100A of FIG. 4) and rendered is presented to a userwho operates the avatar 100A. In FIG. 6, the calculation result isapplied to the avatar 100B. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 7,a video in which the avatar 100B is replaced with the avatar 100B towhich the calculation result is not applied (the avatar 100B of FIG. 4)and rendered is presented to a user who operates the avatar 100B. InFIG. 7, the calculation result is applied to the avatar 100A. Note thata video obtained by rendering the avatars 100A and 100B, to which thecalculation result is applied, as illustrated in FIG. 5 is presented toa user other than the users who operate the avatars 100A and 100B.

Similar processing is performed on a collision between an avatar and anon-avatar object. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, it is assumedthat an object 110 collides with the avatar 100. When the calculationresult of the computation unit 13 is reflected in each of the avatar 100and the object 110, the posture of the avatar 100 is greatly collapsedas illustrated in FIG. 9.

The user who operates the avatar 100 is provided with a video obtainedby rendering the avatar 100 to which the calculation result is notapplied as illustrated in FIG. 8. The other users are provided with avideo obtained by rendering the avatar 100 to which the calculationresult is applied as illustrated in FIG. 9.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the computationunit 13 performs object collision processing to calculate the physicalbehavior of each object, the VR space management unit 12 applies thecalculation result of the computation unit 13 to each object, and whenthe rendering unit 14 renders a video supplied to the HMD 30 worn by theuser, the user avatar operated by the user is rendered so that thereaction motion of the user avatar is suppressed within a predeterminedrange. In this way, a user avatar that performs a reaction motion inresponse to a collision with an object can be presented to others otherthan the user, and a user avatar whose reaction motion is suppressed canbe presented to the user. Therefore, it is possible to give reality to acollision of an object with the user avatar without making the user feeluncomfortable with the movement of the user avatar.

Second Embodiment

Hereinafter, a video distribution system including a display controlterminal of a second embodiment will be described with reference to thedrawings.

The video distribution system including the display control terminal ofthe second embodiment is a system in which a distributor operates adistributor avatar in the virtual space and distributes a video in thevirtual space to a viewer. In addition to viewing the video, the viewercan have a viewer avatar operated by the viewer participate in the samevirtual space as that of the distributor avatar.

The video distribution system of FIG. 10 includes a distributor terminal40, which is the display control terminal of the second embodiment, anda distribution server 50. The distributor terminal 40 and thedistribution server 50 are communicably connected via a network.

The distribution server 50 receives a video obtained by rendering thevirtual space from the distributor terminal 40, and distributes thereceived video to a viewer terminal 60. The distribution server 50 mayperform live video distribution in which the received video isdistributed in real time, or may store the received video and distributethe video in response to a request from the viewer terminal 60.

The viewer terminal 60 is a terminal for allowing the viewer to view thevideo. A device such as a mobile terminal or a personal computer can beused as the viewer terminal 60 as long as the device allows thedelivered video to be viewed. The viewer terminal 60 may receive data ofthe virtual space and render the virtual space. In addition, when theviewer participates in the live video distribution, the viewer terminal60 connects an HMD, a controller, etc., and uses a device having a VRfunction. For example, the terminal 10 of the first embodiment is usedas the viewer terminal 60, and data in the virtual space is synchronizedwith the distributor terminal 40.

A configuration of the distributor terminal 40 will be described withreference to FIG. 11. The distributor terminal 40 includes an avatarcontrol unit 11, a VR space management unit 12, a computation unit 13, arendering unit 14, a communication unit 15, a distribution videorendering unit 16, and a distribution unit 17. The distributor terminal40 includes the distribution video rendering unit that renders a videofor distribution and the distribution unit 17 that distributes a videoin the terminal 10 of the first embodiment.

The avatar control unit 11 receives the posture, position, and operationinformation of the distributor from a device such as the controller 20,and generates control data for controlling a posture and movement of thedistributor avatar.

The VR space management unit 12 manages data of an object existing inthe virtual space. The VR space management unit 12 applies the controldata generated by the avatar control unit 11 to the distributor avatarto update the posture and position of the distributor avatar. When theviewer is participating, the VR space management unit 12 applies thecontrol data received from the viewer terminal 60 of the participatingviewer to model data of the viewer avatar.

When objects collide with each other in the virtual space, thecomputation unit 13 calculates physical behaviors of the objects inresponse to the collision. For the distributor avatar, the VR spacemanagement unit 12 manages posture and position information of thedistributor avatar in a state where the calculation result is notapplied in addition to posture and position information of thedistributor avatar after applying the calculation result. Similarly tothe first embodiment, the VR space management unit 12 may manage postureand position information of the distributor avatar in a state where acalculation result calculated by changing a parameter is applied, ormanage posture and position information of the distributor avatar in astate where a calculation result is applied by changing a degree ofapplication.

The rendering unit 14 renders the virtual space from a viewpoint of thedistributor avatar without applying the calculation result to thedistributor avatar, and supplies a rendered video to the HMD 30.Similarly to the first embodiment, the rendering unit 14 renders thedistributor avatar so that a reaction motion of the distributor avataris suppressed within a predetermined range.

The communication unit 15 transmits and receives control data and voicedata of the avatar to and from the viewer terminal 60 of theparticipating viewer. Further, the communication unit 15 may receive acomment (character information) from the viewer terminal 60, or mayreceive information about a gift, an item, etc. The distributor terminal40 may display an object displaying content of a comment in the virtualspace for a comment received from the viewer terminal 60. Thedistributor terminal 40 may make an object corresponding to a gift oritem received from the viewer terminal 60 appear in the virtual space.When an object corresponding to the comment, gift, and item collideswith the distributor avatar, the distributor avatar performs a reactionmotion based on a calculation result of the computation unit 13.

The distribution video rendering unit 16 renders a virtual space inwhich the calculation result of the computation unit 13 is applied tothe distributor avatar, and generates a video for distribution. Thedistribution video rendering unit 16 may render the virtual space from aviewpoint of the distributor avatar, or may render the virtual spacefrom a viewpoint of a virtual camera disposed in the virtual space.Voice data of the distributor and a participant may be added to thevideo for distribution.

The distribution unit 17 transmits the video for distribution renderedby the distribution video rendering unit 16 to the distribution server50. The distribution server 50 distributes the received video to each ofthe viewer terminals 60.

Note that the distribution server 50 may include the distribution videorendering unit 16 and the distribution unit 17. In this case, thedistribution server 50 holds data in the virtual space and synchronizesthe data in the virtual space with the distributor terminal 40. Thedistribution server 50 renders the virtual space and distributes thevirtual space to the viewer terminal 60. The distribution server 50 mayinclude the VR space management unit 12 and the computation unit 13 tomanage the data in the virtual space, and the distributor terminal 40may acquire the data in the virtual space from the distribution server50. The rendering unit 14 of the distributor terminal 40 replaces thedistributor avatar with a distributor avatar to which the calculationresult of the computation unit 13 is not applied, and renders thevirtual space. The distribution server 50 may include the rendering unit14 to render the video supplied to the HMD 30 of the distributor.

An operation of the distributor terminal 40 will be described withreference to a flowchart of FIG. 12. The case where the calculationresult is not applied to the distributor avatar will be described below.However, the description is similarly applied to a case where a degreeof application of the calculation result is suppressed or thecalculation result calculated by changing a parameter is applied.

In step S21, the avatar control unit 11 receives information about theposture of the distributor, etc. from the controller 20 and generatescontrol data of the distributor avatar. When the viewer isparticipating, the communication unit 15 transmits the control datagenerated by the avatar control unit 11 to the viewer terminal 60 of theparticipating viewer.

In step S22, the VR space management unit 12 applies the control data tothe avatar and updates the posture and position of the moving object.Further, the VR space management unit 12 applies the control datareceived from the viewer terminal 60 of the participating viewers to theviewer avatar.

In step S23, the computation unit 13 performs collision processingbetween objects.

In step S24, the VR space management unit 12 reflects the calculationresult of the computation unit 13 in the virtual space and updates theposture and position of the object. At this time, the VR spacemanagement unit 12 separately manages the posture and position of thedistributor avatar in a state where the calculation result is notapplied.

In step S25, the distribution video rendering unit 16 renders thevirtual space to which the calculation result of the computation unit 13is applied, and generates a distribution video. As illustrated in FIG.9, for example, the distribution video rendering unit 16 renders avirtual space in which the calculation result is applied to the avatar.

In step S26, the distribution unit 17 transmits the distribution video.

In step S27, the rendering unit 14 renders the virtual space withoutapplying the calculation result to the distributor avatar, and suppliesthe rendered video to the HMD 30. As illustrated in FIG. 8, for example,the rendering unit 14 renders the virtual space in which the calculationresult is not applied to the avatar. That is, the rendering unit 14renders the virtual space in which the distributor avatar is replacedwith the avatar to which the calculation result is not applied.

Note that when the calculation result is not applied to the distributoravatar, the distributor may not be aware that the object collides withthe distributor avatar. Therefore, the distributor terminal 40 may havea function of notifying the distributor of the collision between thedistributor avatar and the object.

For example, the distributor terminal 40 notifies the distributor bysound when the distributor avatar and the object collide with eachother. At the moment of impact when the distributor avatar and theobject collide with each other, sound corresponding to the collision isheard by both the distributor and the viewer. While the distributoravatar and the object are in contact with each other, sound reportingcontact is heard only by the distributor. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and9, when the object 110 collides with a head of the avatar 100, the soundeffect of the object 110 colliding with the avatar 100 is heard by thedistributor and the viewer at the moment of the collision. Thereafter,while the object 110 is on the head of the avatar 100, only thedistributor continues to hear sound indicating that the object 110 iscolliding with the avatar 100.

Alternatively, the distributor terminal 40 shows a video viewed by theviewer to the distributor. The distributor terminal 40 displays thevideo viewed by the viewer on a monitor in the virtual space. Forexample, the monitor is disposed in front of a line of sight of thedistributor avatar.

Alternatively, the rendering unit 14 renders the user avatar to whichthe calculation result is applied, in addition to the user avatar whosereaction motion is suppressed within a predetermined range. At thistime, the rendering unit 14 performs rendering by changing a displaymode, such as making the user avatar to which the calculation result isapplied semitransparent.

A configuration for reporting a collision between an avatar and anobject may be applied to the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the computationunit 13 performs object collision processing to calculate the physicalbehavior of each object, the VR space management unit 12 applies thecalculation result of the computation unit 13 to each object, and whenthe rendering unit 14 renders a video supplied to the HMD 30 worn by theuser, the distributor avatar operated by the distributor is rendered sothat the reaction motion of the distributor avatar is suppressed withina predetermined range. In this way, a distributor avatar that performs areaction motion in response to a collision with an object can bepresented to the viewer, and a distributor avatar whose reaction motionis suppressed can be presented to the distributor. Therefore, it ispossible to give reality to a collision of an object with thedistributor avatar without making the distributor feel uncomfortablewith the movement of the distributor avatar.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   10 Terminal    -   11 Avatar control unit    -   12 VR space management unit    -   13 Computation unit    -   14 Rendering unit    -   15 Communication unit    -   16 Distribution video rendering unit    -   17 Distribution unit    -   20 Controller    -   30 HMD    -   40 Distributor terminal    -   50 Distribution server    -   60 Viewer terminal

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A display control device for displaying a virtualspace including an avatar operated by a user wearing a head-mounteddisplay, the display control device comprising: an avatar control unitfor generating control data of the avatar according to movement of theuser; a computation unit for calculating physical behaviors of theavatar and an object according to a collision when the avatar and theobject collide with each other; a virtual space management unit forapplying a calculation result of the computation unit to the virtualspace; and a rendering unit for rendering the avatar whose behavior inresponse to a collision is suppressed within a predetermined range as avideo supplied to the head-mounted display when a posture of the avatarto which the calculation result is applied and a posture of the avatarbased on an operation of the user diverge from each other by apredetermined value or more.
 8. The display control device according toclaim 7, wherein the rendering unit renders a video in which a behaviorof the avatar is suppressed within a predetermined range by not applyingthe calculation result to an avatar operation by the user, by changing adegree of application to apply the calculation result to an avataroperated by the user, or by applying another calculation resultcalculated by changing a parameter to an avatar operated by the user. 9.The display control device according to claim 7, further comprising anotification unit for notifying the user that the avatar and an objectcollide with each other.
 10. The display control device according toclaim 7, further comprising a distribution unit for distributing a videoobtained by rendering the virtual space to which a calculation result ofthe computation unit is applied.
 11. A display control method executedby a display control device for displaying a virtual space including anavatar operated by a user wearing a head-mounted display, the displaycontrol method comprising: generating control data of the avataraccording to movement of the user; calculating physical behaviors of theavatar and an object according to a collision when the avatar and theobject collide with each other; applying a calculation result obtainedin the step of calculating to the virtual space; and rendering theavatar whose behavior in response to a collision is suppressed within apredetermined range as a video supplied to the head-mounted display whena posture of the avatar to which the calculation result is applied and aposture of the avatar based on an operation of the user diverge fromeach other by a predetermined value or more.
 12. A display systemincluding first and second display control devices used by first andsecond users, respectively, communication being performed in a virtualspace through first and second avatars operated by the first and secondusers wearing head-mounted displays, respectively, in the displaysystem, wherein the first display control device includes a first avatarcontrol unit for generating control data of the first avatar accordingto movement of the first user, and a first rendering unit for renderingthe virtual space as a video supplied to the head-mounted display wornby the first user, the second display control device includes a secondavatar control unit for generating control data of the second avataraccording to movement of the second user, and a second rendering unitfor rendering the virtual space as a video supplied to the head-mounteddisplay worn by the second user, at least one of the first displaycontrol device or the second display control device includes acomputation unit for calculating physical behaviors of an avatar and anobject according to a collision when the avatar and the object collidewith each other, the virtual space to which a calculation result of thecomputation unit is applied is synchronized between the first and seconddisplay control devices, the first rendering unit renders the firstavatar whose behavior in response to a collision is suppressed within apredetermined range when a posture of the first avatar to which thecalculation result is applied and a posture of the first avatar based onan operation of the first user diverge from each other by apredetermined value or more, and the second rendering unit renders thesecond avatar whose behavior in response to a collision is suppressedwithin a predetermined range when a posture of the second avatar towhich the calculation result is applied and a posture of the secondavatar based on an operation of the second user diverge from each otherby a predetermined value or more.